iPhone Archives - Page 2 of 4

Poor Cell Phone Service – Some Tips to Remedy

Posted on February 26, 2019December 2, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Android, Cell Phone Service, iPhone, Technology Tips, Tips

Even with all the improvements in cellular technology I still run into areas which have very poor cell phone service. There are the times when I’m the passenger in a car and the cell phone quality just gets worse and worse.

Does this ever happen to you? You’re talking on the phone and the quality of the call keeps decreasing. You keep waiting for your call to switch to the next cell tower but that never seems to happen. What should you do?

We used to drive up and over a section of the highway that we dubbed “The Hill of Cellular Death”. It was pretty much guaranteed that when you got about two-thirds of the way up the hill on either side, your cell call would drop. It got to be that I wouldn’t even answer my cell phone when the vehicle I was traveling in was within a half mile of that hill. Thankfully they now have a low profile tower on that hill and my calls don’t get dropped anymore.

What should you do when your smartphone gets really poor cell phone service?

This is what that pesky “Airplane Mode” button is for! Put your phone into “Airplane Mode” so that it turns off your cell service, your WiFi, and your Bluetooth. Leave it off for about five to ten seconds and then turn it back on. This will force the phone to search for the strongest cell tower in the area.

More Info:

Here’s a blog I wrote explaining what 4G service is.
Here’s another blog with locations for decent cell service along the Peak to Peak Highway.

Please forward this to your friends who complain about their poor cell phone service.

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free and fast shipping. With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. Prime is usually $119/year, but you can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

iPhone Shortcuts and Tips

Posted on November 13, 2018January 21, 2019 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, SmartPhones, Technology Tips, Tips

The other day I was watching a friend use her iPhone and I was surprised that she didn’t know a few iPhone Shortcuts and tips that I take for granted! I showed her some of these tips, and thought, well maybe she’s not the only one who doesn’t know about them.

iPhone Shortcuts Scenario 1:

You’re texting with a friend and decide it might be easier to have a verbal conversation. You might switch from the texting app to the phone app, look up the contact, and then press the call button.

OR…

You can tap the little round button with their photo or initials, and then tap “Audio” or “Facetime”.

iPhone Shortcuts Scenario #2

You’re reviewing your email, and you’ve received an email with a link. You tap the link and it opens up in Safari. When you’re done reviewing the page, you close Safari and reopen your Mail app to continue reviewing emails.

OR…

You look at the top left corner where it says Mail, and you tap that to quickly return.

iPhone Shortcuts Scenario #3

You want to take a photo so you turn on your phone, find the Camera App, and open it up.

OR…

From the lock screen, you quickly swipe from right to left which automatically opens the camera app

iPhone Shortcuts Scenario #4

Your coffee is brewing and you want to quickly set a timer. You open the Clock App, select Timer, and then set the timer for your perfect brew.

OR…

You swipe up from the bottom and select the little timer icon and very quickly set the proper amount of time.

iPhone Shortcuts Scenario #5

You’ve been in a meeting and want to see what notifications you’ve missed while you were out of touch. You open each app separately to see what emails, phone calls, texts, and other messages you’ve received.

OR…

You swipe down from the top of your screen to see all of your notifications at once.

iPhone Shortcuts from the Swipe Up (Control Center) screen

You have a slew of options for quick access from the Swipe Up screen.

Turn Bluetooth, WiFi, Airplane mode, and Cellular Data on and off
Restart or pause your music
Adjust the volume
Adjust screen brightness
Lock the screen so that it won’t turn sideways unexpectedly
Turn on your flashlight
Open your calculator
Take a photo
Click the little moon so that your phone is in “Do Not Disturb” mode

(By the way, you can customize what appears here from Settings. Click on “settings”, then “Control Center”, then “Customize Controls”.

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I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past fifteen years. His company is highly rated by both the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and by Angie’s List. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet. I’ll try that next! Prime is normally $119/year, but you can try it for 30 days for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (Yes, we’ll get a small commission when you sign up.)

Screen Time – How much time do I spend playing games on my phone?!

Posted on October 23, 2018November 6, 2020 by Gail Eddy in iPad, iPhone, Smartphone Apps, SmartPhones, Tips

Several months ago, I checked out the beta version of the newest Operating System for my iPhone. (Check out my blog on the subject.) I did this primarily because I had heard about Screen Time, a new app that helps you track the amount of time you are spending on your Apple devices. I only signed up for the trial on my iPad because, if they were to release a beta OS that crashed the system, I didn’t want to be without my phone.

Although Screen Time says "Gail's iPhone", it's really data from both my phone and tablet. — Although Screen Time says “Gail’s iPhone,” it has combined actual data from both my phone and my tablet.

Well, now that they’ve fully tested the software and released it to the public, I’ve installed it on my phone and updated my tablet. (By the way, I’m using iOS 12.0.1 on my iPhone and 12.1 on the iPad.) So, now there’s no getting around it. I spend a LOT of time on my devices, playing games, and checking social media. But, I’m also happy to see that I actually do spend more time reading, researching, and other productive activities. (Check out the Screen Time gray bar.)

What do the different colors mean?

There are several different colors on the Screen Time app that indicates where you are spending your time. The first several colors are where you are spending the most time. For me, dark blue indicates the time I spend playing games, light blue indicates Social Media, Orange is Health & Fitness, and the grey bar on Screen Time generally indicates “Other.”

When I did a quick search on Google to find out what all the different colors mean, I was surprised at how many people searched for the “Screentime grey bar” and “What does the Screentime gray bar mean?” It seems to always indicate “OTHER” and not the top three categories.

I also played around with it a little. Yesterday I opened the Kindle app on my phone and left it up for several hours. Sure enough, the “Information & Reading” category turned dark blue.

Screen Time tells me how often I…

The App also tells me how many times I pick up my phone (54 times a day) and how many notifications I get (71 per day).

How to install Screen Time:

Screen Time is easy to activate and use once you’ve upgraded to the newest iOS. Go to Settings, and scroll down about one screen until you see Screen Time. Click on Screen Time, then “Turn on Screen Time.” Read the introduction, then click on “Continue.” Next, it will ask if this phone is yours or for a child. It will allow you to set up a downtime for the phone, time limits for specific apps, and other permissions. (You may also notice that I have a VPN activated on my phone. Here’s my blog about that subject.)

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INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website or give us a call at 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

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WiFi Calling

Posted on September 8, 2018September 12, 2018 by Gail Eddy in Android, iPhone, Tips, WiFi

Did you know that you can use WiFi calling to make phone calls with your SmartPhone even when there is no cellular service available?

Like many of us, I have one friend who lives in the mountains where there is really spotty cell coverage, at best. When I arrive, I quickly connect to her WiFi so that I can receive phone calls and text messages from our customers. (Hey, just because I’m having lunch, doesn’t mean your computer will continue to work perfectly. If you need us, I like to be available!)

Why you should use WiFI Calling:

But even if you don’t have friends with sparse or non-existent cell service, you still want to know about WiFi calling. We’ve all gone to that coffee shop with lots of brick and metal and maybe one bar of cell service. Or that place in the shopping center whose entrance faces north, AWAY from all the cell towers. Or, true story, the wind blows down the primary cell tower at your house and it takes them three months to put it back up. Where ever you have WiFi, you can continue to make phone calls.

How do I turn on WiFi Calling?

On your iPhone, head over to Settings -> Cellular -> WiFi Calling -> then toggle the button to “on”.
On an Android, tap on Settings, then “Networks”, and then “Call”. You can turn on WiFi calling from there.

Anything else I should do?

I wouldn’t recommend updating your Emergency Address unless you ONLY use WiFi at home.

If you found this helpful, please forward it to your friends!

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and the online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet. I’ll try that next! Prime is normally $99/year, but you can try it for 30 days for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (Yes, we’ll get a small commission when you sign up.)

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Secure Texting with the Signal App

Posted on August 28, 2018May 20, 2019 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

I know I’m a little behind the times, but I just found out about Signal, a secure texting app that provides a higher level of data encryption than any of the other texting apps out there. I’ve been looking for something different ever since I found out that Facebook acquired WhatsApp. (And, again, a little behind the times since Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014!) But, then again, even the founder of WhatsApp thinks that it is time to dump Facebook as this tweet reflects from earlier in the year.

What’s wrong with WhatsApp? I thought it had secure texting:

And, while WhatsApp says it provides secure texting, it is still owned by Facebook. From the WhatsApp website:

“WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption is available when you and the people you message use our app. Many messaging apps only encrypt messages between you and them, but WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption ensures only you and the person you’re communicating with can read what is sent, and nobody in between, not even WhatsApp.”

And, in my view, a for-profit company known to sell private data to the highest bidder is not on my “to be trusted” list.

Why is Signal better:

When I found out about Signal a few weeks ago I downloaded it right away. I was surprised to see who of my contacts are already using Signal. Even some of my family are on that list! Signal is a secure texting messaging app. It is free for the download from iTunes (you’ll need iOS 9.0 or later), or the Google Play Store (you’ll need Android 4.0 and up). Because it provides end-to-end encryption no one can view the messages you send except you and the recipient.

From the Signal website:

“Signal messages and calls are always end-to-end encrypted and painstakingly engineered to keep your communication safe. We can’t read your messages or see your calls, and no one else can either.”

“Signal has never taken VC funding or sought investment, because we felt that putting profit first would be incompatible with building a sustainable project that put users first.”

In addition to secure texting, you can also use Signal for phone calls and video chat.

Here’s what Mashable has to say:

“By allowing you to have truly private conversations, Signal changes that equation. Why is this so important? This year, perhaps more than ever, we’ve seen just how asleep at the wheel tech giants are when it comes to nefarious actors using their platforms to sow discord and incite violence. Taking your conversations, and, by extension, valuable data about your so-called social graph off those platforms is one way to fight this.”

And more from Wired about secure texting:

“There’s one messaging app we should all be using: Signal. It has strong encryption, it’s free, it works on every mobile platform, and the developers are committed to keeping it simple and fast by not mucking up the experience with ads, web-tracking, stickers, or animated poop emoji.”

If you found this helpful, please forward it to your friends!

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Secure WiFi on Vacation

Posted on August 7, 2018May 20, 2019 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Growing up with a Dad who was a psychiatrist, August was always the month for vacations. (As I got older I used to worry about his patients who were left alone for an entire month!) There are some things you can do to make sure you have secure WiFi wherever you are in the world. The most important is keeping your WiFi use safe and secure.

Here are some steps to take before and during your vacation:

Set up a throwaway email before you leave. While you are gone, you will be asked numerous times for your email address. Lots of times, they just won’t take “no” for an answer. Head over to Google’s Gmail sign up page for a new (free) account. Remember the password, and be sure you set up auto-forwarding to your main email address. You’ll want your smartphone to be able to receive any access codes that may be sent.
When you’re going for free WiFi, try to use well-known companies. For example, Starbucks or the Hilton are well known for their secure WiFi and aren’t likely to steal your info for nefarious use.
Whatever you do, don’t try to connect to WiFi with names like “TellMy WiFi LuvHer”, or “FBI Surveillance Van” or “Hacker 547”. (Yes, I’ve seen all of those.) Remember the old adage – “If it’s free, YOU are the product”. Think about what they might be getting out of the transaction to provide you with free WiFi.
Sometimes the rest stops on the Interstate highways will have free secure WiFi, but only if you provide them with your email address and zip code. This is where that new throw-away email comes in handy. If they do ask for your name and zip, remember that you don’t have to give them your real info.

If you found this helpful, please forward it to your friends!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

5 Easy Steps To Delete Browsing History On Your iPhone

Posted on July 31, 2018May 20, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Computer History, iPhone, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Do you know how we always tell you to delete the history on your web browser on your computer? Well, you need to delete browsing history on your smartphone too. It helps speed up your interactions with the servers. But it also helps keep your data more secure too, since it deletes any installed cookies as well as your entire history.

If anyone is able to hack into your phone they may be able to gain access to your login information for any number of websites. It may also help to make you look like a new user to websites that track the number of times you’ve visited. You’ve gotten that message – “You’ve logged on ten times for free. Subscribe now!” I don’t know about you, but I would prefer not to provide my email address to another sales organization and an easy way around that error message is to delete browsing history.

It is really very easy to delete your history. Just follow these 5 steps.

5 Easy Steps to Delete Browsing History on your iPhone

Open up your Settings
Click on “Safari”
Scroll almost all the way to the bottom of the page
Click on “Clear History and Website Data”
Confirm that you truly want to delete browsing history. It really will delete all of the open web pages on your iPhone. This means that every page you’ve opened in your iPhone’s browser will be gone! This was a surprise to me because I tend to save my open tabs so I can reference them again. If there are tabs that you have open on your phone that you would like to keep, it’s best to save them first, then wipe the history!

If you found this helpful, please forward it to your friends!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Your New iPhone: How to Set it Up For Ease and Security

Posted on January 2, 2018January 14, 2019 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, Privacy, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Did you get a brand new iPhone over the holidays? There are some things you should do right away to make sure it stays secure and you keep being happy with it. Even if you’ve had your phone for several months, make sure you’ve taken care of these.

Lock down your new iPhone:

First – you want to make sure your new iPhone can be locked down. Go to “Settings”, and scroll down to “Touch (or Face) ID and Passcode”. If you’ve already set up a passcode, you’ll need to enter it before continuing to these options. Decide if you want to use the Touch or Face ID, or if you just want to use a passcode. If you do want to use a passcode, we recommend that you select one that is more than four digits. You can select a custom alph-numeric code, or a custom numeric code.

Fine Tune Location Settings:

You’ll also want to lock down your Location settings. Click on “Settings”, and then “Privacy”. You can see which Apps get location data and turn off the ones that don’t really need to know where you are located.

Set up Siri:

When I’m on a road trip, I turn on “Hey Siri”. This allows me to have hands-free interaction with my iphone. To turn this on, click on “Settings”, and then “Siri & Search”. Slide the button to “on” to allow for Siri to listen. You can also select a language and voice for Siri on this screen.

Sharing Analytics:

Decide if you want to share analytics from your iPhone with Apple. Apple collects usage data and location information. To turn this off click on “Settings”, and then “Privacy”. Scroll to the bottom and click on “Analytics”. Make sure the button is turned off.

Targeted Ads:

Opt out of receiving targeted ads. Click on “Settings”, “Privacy”. Scroll to the bottom and click on “Advertising”. Slide the green button On to Limit Ad Tracking.

Save Your Photos!

This is a good time to decide what to do with your photos. Do you have a plan in place for saving them off of your phone? I have set up Dropbox to save my photos onto the cloud every day.

Add Shortcuts for Favorite Websites:

Do you have websites that you go to frequently? You can add them as an icon on your new iPhone screen by clicking on the up arrow at the bottom of your Safari screen. Slide the bottom row of options over until you see “Add to Home Screen”. Click on that, personalize the text, and then click “Add”.

What do you do to set up your new iPhone? Share in the comments below!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PC’s for the past fifteen years. His company is highly rated by both the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and by Angie’s List. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and the online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet. I’ll try that next! Prime is normally $99/year, but you can try it for 30 day for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (Yes, we’ll get a small commission if you sign up.)

5 Easy Steps To Delete Cookies On Your iPhone

Posted on December 5, 2017December 12, 2017 by Gail Eddy in Computer History, iPhone, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Chris and I had a conversation this morning about the pesky news sites that limit the number of articles you can read each month. There are some newspapers that I won’t even read online because I get that nasty error message that says: “You’ve reached the limit! Subscribe now!” He told me that when he runs into that, the solution is to delete cookies on your iPhone.

WHAAAAAT?! I didn’t realize you could do that.

As I started looking into this, I see that there are other benefits as well. Just like with your computer, you do want to delete cookies on your iPhone regularly to keep your private information safe and secure. And, just like the rest of of the business world, there are companies out there who want to sell you an app to “take care of this for you”. Don’t fall for that trick! It’s easy enough to do it yourself.

5 Easy Steps to Delete Cookies on your iPhone

Open up your Settings
Click on “Safari”
Scroll almost all the way to the bottom of the page
Click on “Clear History and Website Data”
Confirm that you truly want to delete all of your history. This means that every page you’ve opened in your iPhone’s browser will be gone! This was a surprise to me, because I tend to save my open tabs so I can reference them again. If there are tabs that you have open on your phone that you would like to keep, it’s best to save them first, then wipe the history!

If you found this helpful, please share with your friends!

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and the online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet. I’ll try that next! Prime is normally $99/year, but you can try it for 30 day for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (Yes, we’ll get a small commission when you sign up.)

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How to Use your iPhone’s Health App

Posted on July 18, 2017August 2, 2017 by Gail Eddy in Apple, Entertainment Apps, iPad, iPhone, Tips

It’s true. You can now use your iPhone’s Health App (and equipment connected to your iPhone) to track many of your body’s functions. For example you can track your heart rate, the Oxygen saturation in your bloodstream, or the number of steps you walk. If you have the iWatch, it can also track how far you swim, how long you stand, and other activities.

Activity

The iPhone’s Health App will automatically track your steps, flights of stairs climbed, and how many miles you’ve walked, but you do need to always have your phone with you in order for the data to be accurate. If you synch your iWatch with your iPhone, you have access to additional data that is much more accurate.

Mindfulness

There are a number of apps that you can connect to your iPhone’s Health App to help you meditate and practice mindfulness.

Calm: Calm has a few options available for free. Most of the meditations require a monthly, annual, or lifetime subscription. Calm also has bedtime stories to calm you down and help you to get a more restful nights sleep. Calm is rated 5 stars with 1482 reviews.
10% Happier – Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: 10% Happier also has a few meditations available for free, with an option to purchase a monthly or annual subscription. It also has a meditation to help you wind down for sleeping. 10% Happier is rate 5 stars with 676 reviews.
Headspace: Guided Meditation: Like the other two apps, Headspace requires a paid subscription to gain access to most of the meditations. It is rated 5 stars with 592 reviews.

Try them out and see which one works best for you. You may find that you don’t even need to sign up for a paid subscription

Nutrition

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any great apps to track your food intake. The iPhone’s Health app does allow you to manually enter data which is very easy to do. If you take vitamin supplements, you can also enter the amount of Vitamin A, B, etc., that you are consuming. Don’t forget to drink lots of water every day!

Sleep

Getting a good nights sleep is very important to your overall health. And collecting sleep data is the first step in understanding how your productivity is impacted by your sleep. I looked at several different sleep apps, but only Sleep Cycle seems like it will work well:

Sleep Cycle doesn’t require that you place the phone under your pillow. Instead it uses the microphone on your iPhone to track your sleep sounds to determine when you are sleeping and how deeply. It even records you when you snore! Sleep Cycle is rated 5 stars with 1340 reviews

Have you learned more about tracking your health with your iPhone? If you found this helpful, please forward it!

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and the online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet. I’ll try that next! Prime is normally $99/year, but you can try it for 30 day for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (Yes, we’ll get a small commission if you sign up.)

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